The present invention relates to a disposable set package for infusing a medicinal fluid into a patient""s body.
Medicinal infusions, as in dialysis treatment for example, require a container for the fluid, and an infusion device comprising an infusion needle and at least one outflow conduit connecting the needle to the container. All these components, commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9csetxe2x80x9d, are normally supplied in separate packages, or in a single package, but as separate components which must be assembled and sterilized prior to use.
To reduce the risk of contagion and the cost of washing the components, the recent trend has been to use all the components only once, including the infusion needle. Nevertheless, assembling the components prior to use involves extremely careful handling and possibly also sterilization of the handled components.
Document EP-A-136 775 describes a package for administering fluid to a patient nasally, and wherein a sheet of semirigid plastic is folded into three, and the respective edges sealed to form a compartment for the fluid and a compartment for a medical device defined by a conduit and a nasal infuser. On account of the semirigid sheet to be folded into three, the above package is fairly complicated to produce, is extremely bulky, and is unsuitable for use with a fluid and a needle infusion device.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a disposable set package for infusing a medicinal fluid using a needle, which is extremely straightforward and designed to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks typically associated with known technology. It is a further object of the invention to provide the disposable set with a transparent drip enabling visual control of the infusion treatment.
According to the present invention, there is provided a disposable set package comprising an infusion device having an outflow conduit connected to a needle, and characterized in that said package is defined by a single bag made of flexible plastic material and comprising a first compartment enclosing said fluid, and a second compartment enclosing said infusion device; said conduit communicating with said first compartment; and said two compartments being sealed with respect to the outside environment.
According to a further aspect of the invention, the plastic material of the bag is transparent, the two compartments are separated by a seal in the bag, and the package has a further seal forming, between said conduit and said first compartment, a transparent chamber acting as a drip.